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Babar Azam-led Pakistan find themselves in a tough spot in the 2023 World Cup, losing their way after a bright start to the competition.
Pakistan began the ICC event with an 81-run win over the Netherlands in Hyderabad. They then chased down a 545-run target - a World Cup record - against Sri Lanka at the same venue.
It has all gone downwards for Pakistan since the impressive win over the Lankans. They have lost three matches in a row now and are in fifth position in the points table with four points from five matches.
The Men in Green went down to arch-rivals India by seven wickets in the much-hyped clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Against Australia, they conceded 367/9 bowling first in Bengaluru and lost the contest by 62 runs.
Pakistan would have been hoping to make a strong comeback against Afghanistan but ended up being stunned by eight wickets. Set to chase 283, Afghanistan romped home without any trouble.
Following the hat-trick of losses, Babar’s captaincy could be in trouble if Pakistan fail to qualify for the semifinals.
On that note, we analyze three reasons why Babar could be sacked as Pakistan's captain after the 2023 World Cup.
#1 Pakistan have looked like a weak side under his leadership
On paper, Pakistan possess an extremely talented bunch of players. But it would be fair to say that they have not flourished under Babar’s captaincy in recent times.
They failed to reach the final of the Asia Cup earlier this year, going down to India by a massive 228-run margin and then losing to Sri Lanka by two wickets. Even in the three-match series against Afghanistan before the Asia Cup, the Men in Green looked unconvincing despite winning 3-0.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Pakistan have looked like a weak side under Babar's leadership, not only in the ongoing World Cup but heading into the ICC event as well.
Yes, Pakistan have always been unpredictable, but better was expected from a team possessing talents like Babar, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, and Haris Rauf among others.
It has just not come together for the team under Babar’s captaincy. This could be one key reason why Pakistan may look for a fresh face as leader after the 2023 ODI World Cup.
#2 Captaincy seems to bog down Babar Azam as a batter
His average might not reflect it for stats can often be misleading, but the pressure of leadership has clearly affected Babar’s batting, especially in big tournaments. If we analyze the right-handed batter’s performances in some of the recent multi-nation tournaments, he managed a meager 68 runs in six matches during the 2022 T20 Asia Cup in the UAE.
Although Pakistan recovered from a poor start to reach the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, Babar had another horror run with the bat. He managed only 124 runs from seven matches at a paltry average of 17.71. He never looked in any sort of rhythm during the tournament.
Looking at his performance in the ongoing ODI World Cup, he has scored 157 runs in five innings at a middling average of 31.40, with two half-centuries. The figures could have been worse if he didn't score 74 against Afghanistan, but even that came off 92 balls.
Babar’s strike rate in the 2023 World Cup as of now is under 80, which is unacceptable. The leading run-getters in the tournament are averaging over 90, some of them over 100 as well.
#3 He lacks the skills to be a great captain
Apart from captaincy affecting his batting, there are question marks over his leadership ability itself. He doesn’t seem like a shrewd leader. His bizarre bowling changes against Afghanistan are a clear case in point. Also, players seemed frustrated and were openly having a go at each other, which indicates that Babar does not hold strong command over the team.
Another factor that may also come into consideration is the number of controversies and rumors surrounding infighting in the team, which seems a bit high even by Pakistan standards. This is not to say that there may be truth in the report, but the fact that such theories are arising time and again is not good for the atmosphere of the team.
If Babar proves critics wrong and manages to inspire a strong Pakistan comeback in the World Cup, he could keep the leadership role. If not, the writing might pretty much be on the wall.
